Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-374

Current with legislation from the 2024 Regular and Special Sessions.

Section 7-374 - Bonded indebtedness of municipalities

(a)Definitions. As used in this section, "town" includes each town, consolidated town and city and consolidated town and borough; "municipality" excludes each town and includes each other independent and dependent political and territorial division and subdivision.

(b)Limitation of indebtedness. No town and no municipality coterminous with or within such town shall incur any indebtedness in any of the following classes through the issuance of bonds which will cause the aggregate indebtedness, in that class, of such town and of all municipalities coterminous with and within such town, jointly, to exceed the multiple stated below for each class times the aggregate annual receipts of such town and of all municipalities coterminous with and within such town, jointly, from taxation for the most recent fiscal year next preceding the date of issue:

(1) All debt other than debt for urban renewal projects, water pollution control projects, school building projects, as defined in section 10-289, and the funding of an unfunded past benefit obligation, as defined in section 7-374c, two and one-quarter;

(2) debt for urban renewal projects, three and one-quarter;

(3) debt for water pollution control projects, three and three-quarters;

(4) debt for school building projects, as defined in section 10-289, four and one-half;

(5) debt for the funding of an unfunded past benefit obligation, as defined in section 7-374c, three; and

(6) total debt including subdivisions (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection, seven. In the computation of annual receipts from taxation, there shall be included as such receipts interest, penalties, late payment of taxes and payments made by the state to such town and to municipalities coterminous with and within such town under section 12-129d and section 7-528. In computing such aggregate indebtedness, there shall be excluded each bond, note and other evidence of indebtedness (i) issued in anticipation of taxes; (ii) issued for the supply of water, for the supply of gas, for the supply of electricity, for electric demand response, for conservation and load management, for distributed generation, for renewable energy projects, for the construction of subways for cables, wires and pipes, for the construction of underground conduits for cables, wires and pipes, for the construction and operation of a municipal community antenna television system and for two or more of such purposes; (iii) issued in anticipation of the receipt of proceeds from assessments which have been levied upon property benefited by any public improvement; (iv) issued in anticipation of the receipt of proceeds from any state or federal grant for which the town or municipality has received a written commitment or for which an allocation has been approved by the State Bond Commission or from a contract with the state, a state agency or another municipality providing for the reimbursement of capital costs but only to the extent such indebtedness can be paid from such proceeds; (v) issued for water pollution control projects in order to meet the requirements of an abatement order of the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, provided the municipality files a certificate signed by its chief fiscal officer with the commissioner demonstrating to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the municipality has a plan for levying a system of charges, assessments or other revenues which are sufficient, together with other available funds of the municipality, to repay such obligations as the same become due and payable; and (vi) upon placement in escrow of the proceeds of refunding bonds, notes or other obligations or other funds of the municipality in an amount sufficient, together with such investment earnings thereon as are to be retained in said escrow, to provide for the payment when due of the principal of and interest on such bond, note or other evidence of indebtedness. "Urban renewal project", as used in this section, shall include any project authorized under title 8, the bonds for which are not otherwise, by general statute or special act, excluded from the computation of aggregate indebtedness or borrowing capacity. In the case of a town that is a member of a regional school district, a portion of the aggregate indebtedness of such regional school district shall be included in the aggregate indebtedness of such town for school building projects for the purposes of this section. Such portion shall be determined by applying to the indebtedness of the district, other than indebtedness issued in anticipation of the receipt by the district of payments by its member towns or the state for the operations of such district's schools and of proceeds from any state or federal grant for which the district has received a written commitment or for which an allocation has been approved by the State Bond Commission or from a contract with the state, a state agency or another municipality providing for the reimbursement of capital costs but only to the extent such indebtedness can be paid from such proceeds, such member town's percentage share of the net expenses of such district for the most recent fiscal year next preceding the date of issue payable by such town as determined in accordance with subsection (b) of section 10-51.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-374

(1949 Rev., S. 807; 1949, 1953, 1955, S. 363d; March, 1958, P.A. 8, S. 5; 24, S. 5; 1959, P.A. 218; 1963, P.A. 604, S. 1; February, 1965, P.A. 53, S. 1; 461, S. 6; 574, S. 7; 1969, P.A. 536, S. 1; 584, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 69, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 36, S. 1; P.A. 78-154, S. 15; P.A. 85-543, S. 5, 7; P.A. 87-584, S. 9, 18; P.A. 89-377, S. 7, 8; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 90-1, S. 8, 10; P.A. 93-158, S. 2, 11; P.A. 99-97, S. 2, 6; 99-182, S. 2, 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-1, S. 32; P.A. 07-242, S. 95; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

Under former statute, town, city and school district were each separate municipalities within meaning of act; subdivision did not refer to geographical location. 101 C. 263. Application of present law; meaning of term "consolidated town and city". 107 C. 598. Cited. 121 C. 244; 123 Conn. 580; 146 Conn. 697; 148 C. 590; 206 Conn. 579.

See Sec. 7-130s re municipal guarantee of authority bonds. See Sec. 7-265 re exclusion of certain bonds from debt limitation. See Sec. 7-374a re nonreduction of prior debt limitation. See Sec. 7-375 re repeal of special act provisions inconsistent with Subsec. (b). See Sec. 7-380b re issuance of bonds, notes or other obligations authorized before June 23, 1993. See Sec. 10-56 re authority of regional school district to issue bonds.